Eternal Retaliation
by Validity
Summary: While exploring an ancient Forerunner artefact, a squad of ODSTs discover a deeply hidden secret that involves one of their own whom the Forerunners hold a grudge against. It soon escalates into full scale war between two of the most unlikeliest armies for one man that can change the courses of war, and even fate itself, with one single word. /Rookie-centric, very AU


His eyes shoot wide open as he flails on the floor, grasping for anything as he looks around. What he sees is darkness, a lasting darkness with not even a single light surrounding him; he's standing on nothing yet as he walks, his dark shoes make a quiet tapping sound. He doesn't know how far he has walked and he doesn't know how much time has passed yet he walks and he looks, even daring to go in a new direction but it leads him nowhere. Walking. Walking. Walking. He knows he's dead, he felt the pain and heard his own scream tear at his throat; it was a car crash, one that he doesn't survive and neither does his family but shouldn't they be with him? Is this what Heaven looks like? Or is it Hell?

He doesn't know how much times has passed when someone walks out of the darkness, easily walking out as if they were in a closet the entire time. It's a man, garbed in a simple white tee and jeans, His barefeet padding along the ground without a sound; He's an overwhelmingly handsome man, His dark hair mussed and eyes a simple green...no, blue...they change. They turn colours that he loves and that he's never seen before. It's beautiful and he can't tear his eyes away.

"Are you God?" He rasps, not surprised by his hoarse voice. "Am I dead?" The man tilts His head in sympathy, crossing His arms in a friendly manner as He stops circling him.

"I am what you believe who I am. God. Allah. Budda. Pagans. I am every religion," He says in a soft voice. "Yes, you are dead. You passed quickly with little pain and no suffering." He seems to be waiting for him to ask more questions so he pursues.

"Is this Heaven?" He looks around as if expecting something to strip away and reveal the white palaces and spires and his family and friends.

"Not quite so, it is rather a waiting place. Come, walk with me," He says and gestures in a seemingly random direction. They walk and they walk and they walk. Finally-

"Where are we going?"

"It's nice to just walk and talk; it passes the time for what comes next," He explains casually, hands stuck in His pockets.

"Until what comes? I finally move on into Heaven or Hell or wherever?"

"Not quite. For the last several billion years, you have been evolving. Learning. Growing. Being educated in the ways of emotion, thought, and physicality. It's nearly time for you to go on and do greater things. Explore."

"'You' as in Humanity? We've barely gone past the Moon!"

"No, not Humanity. _You_. Yourself. If we stay in this void long enough, you'll eventually remember. You'll remember your past lives and your victories and failures that they had."

"Me? I'm everyone? So that means, I was every famous person and every poor person?" He nods and continues explaining,

"Every person you've done good deeds for, you did them to yourself. Every person you've hurt, you've hurt yourself. Every person you've killed, you've killed yourself. There's no one else in the Universe, it's been just you and me. It's how our kind is created."

"Kind? You're a species?"

"You'll figure out in time. Look now, you're being born!" He points up and he looks towards where He's pointing, seeing a small fissure in the dark sky. Hope leaps in his chest; he's not dead after all! But something stands out in his head and he whips around to face the other.

"'Born'? Wait, so you mean that this entire time..." He nods before he can finish as the fissure grows.

"Your entire world is an egg." And the light engulfs him.

* * *

It's slow but he eventually wakes up. He's sore and tired and overall hurts but as he sits up, he remembers his conversation with Him, he remembers his past lives. He remembers everything.

Sitting up, he sees that he was laying on a hard metal floor, a ship probably, and when he stumbles to his feet, he nearly falls back down. He's in _space._ Deep, _deep _space with nothing but stars and not a planet in site. _This _is where he's supposed to start his new life? What were they thinking? He doesn't know how to fly a ship let alone survive in space on his own!

He begins hyperventilating, he's absolutely frightened and he sinks down against the cool metal wall, wrapping his arms around his legs as he comes to the fact that he's alone and doesn't know what to do. He was going to die out here before he can get a chance to start his new life. What kind of life was this? This had to be a sick joke; he was going to wake up in bed next to his husband and everything will be just _fine_.

**"**_Sir, I haven't the faintest of why you would think that,_**" **a pleasant voice says above him. He looks up, peeking an eye open before opening the other. Floating above him is a small cube, half-foot by half-foot, black and smooth etched with flawless runes. They light up a brilliant white as the voice speaks once more, **"**_I am glad that you have finally awakened, sir. I have been waiting for your birth for trillions of years. I am the Graphillion and I am your assistant._**"**

"Assistant for what?" He croaks, getting up so he can face the Graphillion properly.

**"**_I am an assistant created and designed specifically for you. All Gold-eyed Creators get similar assistants in shape as me, sir._**"**

"Gold-eyed Creator?"

**"**_Yes, sir, I believe that is what your Creator sub-type is. You are commonly called Tricksters due to your playful nature and tendency to cause chaos in Universes and their galaxies._**"**

"So, what do I do as a...Trickster Creator?"

**"**_Creators are supreme beings of Existence, you create Universes and watch over their evolution and can sometimes be presented with the opportunity of creating another Creator. As a Trickster, you live your entire life as a game, testing your creations for their prowess, mental power, and adaptability. Your Universes are created through your imagination and sometimes, it'll be one of your past lives' greatest fears. You'll jump from one Universe to the next, sometimes without even knowing it._**"**

He's quiet for a moment, trying to gather himself. He feels he's been cheated of a nice comfortable life, everything that has been taught to him is a lie. He isn't even human anymore and the ones who made him expect him to just jump right into his new life without instruction or anything? He had been told to dare himself to do things he's never done, to break rules, to go against the norm.

"Alright, so let's do this," he says, almost quietly and with no confidence in his voice.

**"**_What shall I call you, sir? You have the privilege of renaming yourself,_**" **the Graphillion states as it hovers near his shoulder. He thinks for a moment before shrugging and saying,

"James has a nice ring to it. I'm James. James Detah." A pinging sound comes from the Graphillion as if it filed away the name, stating,

**"**_Creators must have a title to be called by in case of meeting other Creators._**"** He huffs and starts looking around, waving at the cube.

"Make one up for me." Almost immediately, the small cube pings and states,

**"**_You are now Master James Detah the Shattervale._**"**

"Why...? There's got to be a significance behind that."

**"**_I have gone through the records of all your lives and you have seemed to have smashed glass enough to create many valleys from them._**"** He chuckles as he walks around, admiring the small trinkets collected and created from his previous lifetimes as he begins remembering all of them. His fears are washing away as raw power begins seeping through him.

"Snarky son of a bitch..." He mutters as he walks over to the console and starts fiddling with the switches. With the Graphillion's help, he manages to start the ship and pilot it away from his birthplace and to an empty part of Existence to begin his life as a Creator.

* * *

**_Several million years_ _later_...**

"Wake up, buttercup."

* * *

_A/N: I promise to make this short. The main character is the Rookie and yes, this is slightly supernatural. It explores the Rookie's background with a huge twist to it. I just came up with it one day while I was reading. Please review and tell me if you like it, what you expect from the future in this story, and how I could improve. The second chapter should be up later this week, I promise it'll be longer._

_~Validity out~_


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